Wanna have some fun?

[Poboy kartman]

You will need:

#1: A box of Wheaties cereal
#2: A package of #12 or so treble hooks
#3: A crappy Zebco or other spin-cast rod and reel
#4: A spool of 6# test line loaded on above
#5:A large landing net
#6: A fair amount of skill and dexterity....and a small amount of patience...
#7: Experience and luck
luck
#8 An old sock.....(or a new one)....

Soooo.....here's the step by step:

#1: Go down to a nasty looking shallow area of a river or lake near you.
#2: Fill 1/2 the sock with Wheaties and crush them.
#3 Dip the sock in the water for 10 seconds.....pull it out and twist it until the end with the Wheaties is a ball....(This bait will get better and better in the next 10 mins. as it turns sticky....)
#4: Turn the sock inside out and take a pinch to cover the treble hook....
#5: Chunk in the middle of the river.....or towards deep water.....
#6: Take up the slack after the line quits moving/sinking....give it a few feet of slack....and put it in free spool.....
#7:Have a beverage!.....Meanwhile , scan the area for bubbles....when you see an area that has bubbles rising.....pay attention....

Note the frequency and direction the bubbles are moving....this is most likely a carp rooting on the bottom....and you want to put a bait about 10' in front of it....(If its. moving semi-slowly) ....
At the same time....you may see a lot of bubbles where you aren't.....Yep!!!! You guessed it.....GO TO THEM!!!!

Ok....Just to reinforce....you want a few feet of slack in your line....and your reel in freespool...(so you can feed line if necessary) .....The whole idea here is to have as little pressure as possible on the line....which is one reason you should use light line and no weight whatsoever.....

Soooo....Should you get lucky....and it usually happens.....the line will take off and start taking up slack....just before it gets tight....rare back and set the hook.....(Oops....forgot to mention....keep your drag set pretty light)..."

Anyway....Your rod will be high above your head....as soon as it gets close to straightening out....you will need to hit that freespool button and let that sucker run 100 yards.....(keeping slight pressure on the line with your thumb).....

Eventually...he will tire and you can start bringing him back your way....but he can turn and run at any moment....and if you don't hit freespool....it's game over....so....this usually goes on for 10-20 mins....(sometimes more)....and then you need that big net....

But 8-15lb. fish are common....and I've caught almost a dozen on a good afternoon.....BTW: Forgot to mention: sunset is prime time !!!! Good luck and have fun!

 

[chancer]

Do you feed the caught Carp to the local cats? I heard Carp are not good eating, but cats love fish right. Seems like a dozen 15 pound fish would be an inhumane waste.

 

[Poboy kartman]

Do you feed the caught Carp to the local cats? I heard Carp are not good eating, but cats love fish right. Seems like a dozen 15 pound fish would be an inhumane waste.

Carp are not considered game fish in this country....but nuisance animals....

Unlike shooting an animal...you can release the fish to continue on....which I sometimes do...in areas I feel they aren't really hurting anything...(and sometimes those areas are polluted...so keeping fish is prohibited) .....

Coming out of a clean water lake....I sometimes eat them myself....they make a good tuna fish/ salmon substitute for some dishes..(especially fish patties)...

I have cooked and fed them to local cats....also used them as fertilizer in my garden....

But...it's all about the battle....that's the fun part...Also....unlike rabbits and squirrels...(which...although can be pests...)....carp aren't considered game animals.....

But....if the neighborhood strays ever look a bit thin....there's always grackles and crows....and certain other nuisance birds....that can be taken out with a pellet gun.....and the cats actually eat them....

And most folks don't mind the reduction of certain nuisance birds....finding their crap in the wrong places can be aggravating....

 

[B.M.800]

How is it? Cook carp on a piece of split oak... throw away the carp and eat the oak wood?


Hoping to do more fishing this year.

 

[Poboy kartman]

How is it? Cook carp on a piece of split oak... throw away the carp and eat the oak wood?


Hoping to do more fishing this year.

I believe you have been misguided in your research.....it's Cedar.....

Seriously....the biggest problem with carp is the stigma associated with them and the fact that they are almost impossible to de-bone.....

They were brought here from Germany as a food fish.....

In many parts of Europe....they are considered a game fish....as well as prized table fare.....they really do closely resemble tuna or salmon in taste and texture.....Don't knock it until you've tried it....

Alligator gar are good too....but...it takes a chainsaw to skin them....the meat is full of tendons and gristle.....so you have to scrape the meat with two forks....mix that with potatoes and onion and fry up "fish balls"....Most folks don't want to go through the trouble for something that's not that spectacular....but I could at least get "friendly" with the ladies with that dish on 'Survivor'.......

But again....this about the challenge and fun of catching them....so....again.....don't knock it until you've tried it.....

 

[B.M.800]

Details, details...

Ive never had the opportunity to try em, but Im certainly not opposed to the idea.

 

[machinist@large]

If I were inclined to really learn how to fish, I'd be all about my local pan fish: bluegill, smelt and perch. If I'm looking for a real challenge, all I have to do is look at what the local wildlife is doing around the place while I'm stuck at work on first shift. Third gives me plenty of time to deal with the twilight crowd, second, the high noon one's. No search for running water needed.

It does sound like fun though.....

 

[ML-TOYS]

Could always try this too
http://youtu.be/5WnQcXjOMrs

 

[machinist@large]

Could always try this too
http://youtu.be/5WnQcXjOMrs

The only reason I won't cry fowl is the fast that he was fishing in a storm drain. The fact that he's perfected this just seems to imply to much free time......

 

[chancer]

You say carp were brought here as a food fish from Germany. I thought they were related to Koi. and were Japanese? And you are correct they are not a game fish, and can be a nuisance.
While on vacation in Western Pennsylvania as a kid there is a tourist attraction at a lake called pinematuming. ( surel I misspelled that) Anyway you can feed the carp off this little pier they sell day old bread. Anyway these carp are huge 18 to 24" and they are so thick you can barely see the water. Ducks could literally walk on the fish and not touch the water. As a young boy I wondered why nobody fished them, but my uncles said they were only good for making Dog food, and I remember something about Asians but it may have been "off color" this was the 80s. before PC.
Catch and release of a BIG fish like carp does sound like fun.

 

[Poboy kartman]

Well...my neighbor years back was visiting....and he was into bass fishing big time...

When I asked him what his biggest bass was....he was kinda embarrassed to admit....He said he had hooked some good ones...but they got away...

I told him....go carp fishing with me....you catch a bass over six pounds...what? once or twice a year? You dont land them because you don't have experience and you panic....

We went fishing and he got broke off the first 4 fish....I was laughing at him....but!!!!...he finally caught on....and started actually fighting, tiring, and landing those big carp....

Two weeks later....he caught the biggest bass of his life....and he said:"I never would have caught that fish if it weren't for you, thank you...you were right."

 

[JMINDY]

Reminds me when I was a kid, there's an amusement park (Indiana Beach) in my home town. Hundreds of carp lined some sections of the boardwalk. They had a dispensing machine selling pellets for... as the sign said "Feed The Large Mouth Bass"....

I've reeled in a few... can be fun at times when nothing else is bitting... but mostly a nuisance.

 

[B.M.800]

Opening day for trout in PA yesterday. Beautiful day I had to go to a birthday party. oog.
Not that I have my fishin license yet...

I spose I ought to take inventory of my roads and stuff.

 

[Poboy kartman]

I spose I ought to take inventory of my roads and stuff.

Yeah...always a good idea to check them roads and rails.....mostlestly importantantant....is check that whiskey flask....you may have gotten into a leeeetle bit early in the trip.....

 

[B.M.800]

whoops so I cant type!